Though largely unknown to American audiences, the BBC's award-winning Look Around You is easily one of the most hilarious — and ludicrous — shows about science that you'll ever see. Here are some of our favorite clips.

The show, which was devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, came in two incarnations.

The first series ran in 2002 on BBC2. Each of its nine 10-minute episodes ran as fake educational "modules" and covered a different subject in each episode (e.g. "Calcium," "Water," "Germs," etc.). Each segment was done in the style of late 1970s and early 1980s educational films and programs. But if you were expecting scientific accuracy, you'll have to look somewhere else. It's absurdist humor at its best, full of nonsense and bizarre references.

Advertisement

Excerpts from the "Calcium" episode:

A clip from the "Water" episode:

And "Sulphur":

The second series, which ran in 2005, is composed of six 30-minute episodes. These segments are presented in the pop-science style of programs such as Tomorrow's World or Science International, and supposedly set around 1980-81.

Clips from the second series episode, "Sports":

And "Music 2000":

The BAFTA-award winning show was aired on BBC America in 2006 (but out of order). It was also broadcast on Adult Swim in early 2009. Both season 1 and season 2 are available on DVD.